The Human Action Podcast

Ryan McMaken: Are We Getting Poorer?

By every measure extreme poverty in Third World nations is decreasing rapidly. But what about the US and the West? Economist and mises.org editor Ryan McMaken joins Jeff Deist for a wide-ranging discussion of what makes people rich, and how economists should measure wealth. This great discussion explains the decline of real incomes and savings rates in the West, the moral hazards created by central banks, and how a happy combination of technology and market innovation often manages to outpace rapacious governments. Is deflation, horribly mischaracterized by economists, the real source of wealth in a society? And should we judge our personal finances in terms of net worth or lifestyle?